3.

7 Stripline 141

y
Ground
plane

⑀r W b

x E
z Ground plane H

(a) (b)

FIGURE 3.22 Stripline transmission line. (a) Geometry. (b) Electric and magnetic field lines.

3.7 STRIPLINE
Stripline is a planar type of transmission line that lends itself well to microwave integrated
circuitry, miniaturization, and photolithographic fabrication. The geometry of stripline is
shown in Figure 3.22a. A thin conducting strip of width W is centered between two wide
conducting ground planes of separation b, and the region between the ground planes is
filled with a dielectric material. In practice stripline is usually constructed by etching the
center conductor on a grounded dielectric substrate of thickness b/2 and then covering
with another grounded substrate. Variations of the basic geometry of Figure 3.22a include
stripline with differing dielectric substrate thicknesses (asymmetric stripline) or different
dielectric constants (inhomogeneous stripline). Air dielectric is sometimes used when it is
necessary to minimize loss. An example of a stripline circuit is shown in Figure 3.23.
Because stripline has two conductors and a homogeneous dielectric, it supports a TEM
wave, and this is the usual mode of operation. Like parallel plate guide and coaxial line,
however, stripline can also support higher order waveguide modes. These can usually be
avoided in practice by restricting both the ground plane spacing and the sidewall width
to less than λd /2. Shorting vias between the ground planes are often used to enforce this
condition relative to the sidewall width. Shorting vias should also be used to eliminate
higher order modes that can be generated when an asymmetry is introduced between the
ground planes (e.g., when a surface-mounted coaxial transition is used).
Intuitively, one can think of stripline as a sort of “flattened-out” coax—both have a
center conductor completely enclosed by an outer conductor and are uniformly filled with
a dielectric medium. A sketch of the field lines for stripline is shown in Figure 3.22b.
The geometry of stripline does not lend itself to the simple analyses that were used
for previously treated transmission lines and waveguides. Because we will be concerned
primarily with the TEM mode of stripline, an electrostatic analysis is sufficient to give the
propagation constant and characteristic impedance. An exact solution of Laplace’s equa-
tion is possible by a conformal mapping approach [6], but the procedure and results are
cumbersome. Instead, we will present closed-form expressions that give good approxima-
tions to the exact results and then discuss an approximate numerical technique for solving
Laplace’s equation for a geometry similar to stripline.

Formulas for Propagation Constant, Characteristic Impedance,

and Attenuation
From Section 3.1 we know that the phase velocity of a TEM mode is given by
√ √
v p = 1/ µ0 0 r = c/ r , (3.176)
142 Chapter 3: Transmission Lines and Waveguides

FIGURE 3.23 Photograph of a stripline circuit assembly (cover removed), showing four quadra-
ture hybrids, open-circuit tuning stubs, and coaxial transitions.

and thus the propagation constant of stripline is

ω √ √
β= = ω µ0 0 r = r k0 . (3.177)
vp

In (3.176), c = 3 × 108 m/sec is the speed of light in free-space. Using (2.13) and (2.16)
allows us to write the characteristic impedance of a transmission line as
 √
L LC 1
Z0 = = = , (3.178)
C C vpC

where L and C are the inductance and capacitance per unit length of the line. Thus, we
can find Z 0 if we know C. As mentioned previously, Laplace’s equation can be solved by
conformal mapping to find the capacitance per unit length of stripline, but the resulting
solution involves complicated special functions [6], so for practical computations simple
formulas have been developed by curve fitting to the exact solution [6, 7]. The resulting
formula for characteristic impedance is

30π b
Z0 = √ , (3.179a)
r We + 0.441b
 3.7 Stripline 143

where We is the effective width of the center conductor given by

⎧
⎪ W
⎪0 > 0.35
W ⎨
for
We b
= − (3.179b)
b b ⎪
⎪ W
⎩ (0.35 − W/b)2 for < 0.35.
b
These formulas assume a strip with zero thickness and are quoted as being accurate to
about 1% of the exact results. It is seen from (3.179) that the characteristic impedance
decreases as the strip width W increases.
When designing stripline circuits one usually needs to find the strip width, given the
characteristic impedance (and height b and relative permittivity r ), which requires the
inverse of the formulas in (3.179). Such formulas have been derived as
 √
W x for r Z 0 < 120 
= √ √ (3.180a)
b 0.85 − 0.6 − x for r Z 0 > 120 ,

where
30π
x=√ − 0.441. (3.180b)
r Z 0

Since stripline is a TEM line, the attenuation due to dielectric loss is of the same form
as that for other TEM lines and is given in (3.30). The attenuation due to conductor loss
can be found by the perturbation method or Wheeler’s incremental inductance rule. An
approximate result is
⎧
⎪
⎪ 2.7 × 10−3 Rs r Z 0 √
⎪
⎨ A for r Z 0 < 120 
30π(b − t)
αc = Np/m, (3.181)
⎪
⎪ 0.16Rs √
⎪
⎩ B for r Z 0 > 120 
Z0b

with


2W 1 b+t 2b − t
A =1+ + ln ,
b−t π b−t t


b 0.414t 1 4π W
B =1+ 0.5 + + ln ,
(0.5W + 0.7t) W 2π t

where t is the thickness of the strip.

EXAMPLE 3.5 STRIPLINE DESIGN

Find the width for a 50  copper stripline conductor with b = 0.32 cm and
r = 2.20. If the dielectric loss tangent is 0.001 and the operating frequency
is 10 GHz, calculate the attenuation in dB/λ. Assume a conductor thickness of
t = 0.01 mm.

Solution √
√ √
Because r Z 0 = 2.2(50) = 74.2 < 120 and x = 30π/( r Z 0 ) − 0.441 =
0.830, (3.180) gives the strip width as W = bx = (0.32)(0.830) = 0.266 cm.
144 Chapter 3: Transmission Lines and Waveguides

At 10 GHz, the wave number is

√
2π f r
k= = 310.6 m−1 .
c
From (3.30) the dielectric attenuation is
k tan δ (310.6)(0.001)
αd = = = 0.155 Np/m.
2 2
The surface resistance of copper at 10 GHz is Rs = 0.026 . Then from (3.181)
the conductor attenuation is
2.7 × 10−3 Rs r Z 0 A
αc = = 0.122 Np/m,
30π(b − t)
since A = 4.74. The total attenuation constant is
α = αd + αc = 0.277 Np/m.
In dB,
α(dB) = 20 log eα = 2.41 dB/m.
At 10 GHz, the wavelength on the stripline is
c
λ= √ = 2.02 cm,
r f
so in terms of wavelength the attenuation is
α(dB) = (2.41)(0.0202) = 0.049 dB/λ. ■

An Approximate Electrostatic Solution

Many practical problems in microwave engineering are very complicated and do not lend
themselves to straightforward analytic solutions but require some sort of numerical
approach. Thus it is useful for the student to become aware of such techniques; we will
introduce such methods when appropriate throughout this book, beginning with a numeri-
cal solution for the characteristic impedance of stripline.
We know that the fields of the TEM mode on stripline must satisfy Laplace’s equation,
(3.11), in the region between the two parallel plates. The idealized stripline geometry of
Figure 3.22a extends to ±∞, which makes the analysis more difficult. Because we suspect,
from the field line drawing of Figure 3.22b, that the field lines do not extend very far away
from the center conductor, we can simplify the geometry by truncating the plates beyond
some distance, say |x| > a/2, and placing metal walls on the sides. Thus, the geometry we
will analyze is shown in Figure 3.24, where a  b, so that the fields around the center

b ⑀εr
r
W
x
–a 0 a
2 2

FIGURE 3.24 Geometry of enclosed stripline.

 3.7 Stripline 145

conductor are not perturbed by the sidewalls. We then have a closed finite region in which
the potential
(x, y) satisfies Laplace’s equation,
∇t2
(x, y) = 0 for |x| ≤ a/2, 0 ≤ y ≤ b, (3.182)
with the boundary conditions

(x, y) = 0, at x = ±a/2, (3.183a)

(x, y) = 0, at y = 0, b. (3.183b)
Laplace’s equation can be solved by the method of separation of variables. Because
the center conductor at y = b/2 will contain a surface charge density, the potential
(x, y)
will have a slope discontinuity there because D̄ = −0 r ∇t
is discontinuous at y = b/2.
Therefore, separate solutions for
(x, y) must be found for 0 < y < b/2 and b/2 < y < b.
The general solutions for
(x, y) in these two regions can be written as
⎧ ∞
⎪  nπ x nπ y
⎪
⎪ An cos sinh for 0 ≤ y ≤ b/2
⎪
⎪ a a
⎨ n=1
odd

(x, y) = (3.184)
⎪
⎪ 
∞ nπ x nπ
⎪
⎪ B cos sinh (b − y) for b/2 ≤ y ≤ b.
⎪
⎩ n=1 n a a
odd

Only the odd-n terms are needed in (3.184) because the solution is an even function of x.
The reader can verify by substitution that (3.184) satisfies Laplace’s equation in the two
regions and satisfies the boundary conditions of (3.183).
The potential must be continuous at y = b/2, which from (3.184) leads to
An = Bn . (3.185)
The remaining set of unknown coefficients, An , can be found by solving for the charge
density on the center strip. Because E y = −∂
/∂ y, we have
⎧ ∞  nπ 
⎪  nπ x nπ y
⎪
⎪ − An cos cosh for 0 ≤ y ≤ b/2
⎪
⎪ a a a
⎨ n=1odd
Ey =  nπ  (3.186)
⎪
⎪ 
∞ nπ x nπ
⎪
⎪ A cos cosh (b − y) for b/2 ≤ y ≤ b.
⎪
⎩ n=1 n a a a
odd

The surface charge density on the strip at y = b/2 is

ρs = D y (x, y = b/2+ ) − D y (x, y = b/2− )
= 0 r [E y (x, y = b/2+ ) − E y (x, y = b/2− )]
∞
  nπ  nπ x nπ b
= 20 r An cos cosh , (3.187)
a a 2a
n=1
odd

which is seen to be a Fourier series in x for the surface charge density, ρs , on the strip at
y = b/2. If we know the surface charge density we could easily find the unknown con-
stants, An , and then the capacitance. We do not know the exact surface charge density, but
we can make a good guess by approximating it as a constant over the width of the strip,

1 for |x| < W/2
ρs (x) = (3.188)
0 for |x| > W/2.
146 Chapter 3: Transmission Lines and Waveguides

Equating this to (3.187) and using the orthogonality properties of the cos(nπ x/a) functions
gives the constants An as
2a sin(nπ W /2a)
An = . (3.189)
(nπ )2 0 r cosh(nπ b/2a)
The voltage of the strip conductor relative to the bottom conductor can be found by inte-
grating the vertical electric field from y = 0 to b/2. Because the solution is approximate,
this voltage is not constant over the width of the strip but varies with position, x. Rather
than choosing the voltage at an arbitrary position, we can obtain an improved result by
averaging the voltage over the width of the strip:

W/2 
b/2 ∞


1 2a nπ W nπ b
Vavg = E y (x, y) d y d x = An sin sinh . (3.190)
W 0 nπ W 2a 2a
−W/2 n=1
odd

The total charge per unit length on the center conductor is

 W/2
Q= ρs (x) d x = W Coul/m, (3.191)
−W/2

so the capacitance per unit length of the stripline is

Q W
C= = ∞
 F/m. (3.192)
Vavg  2a nπ W nπ b
An sin sinh
n=1 nπ W 2a 2a
odd

Finally, the characteristic impedance is given by

 √ √
L LC 1 r
Z0 = = = = ,
C C vpC cC

where c = 3 × 108 m/sec.

EXAMPLE 3.6 NUMERICAL CALCULATION OF STRIPLINE IMPEDANCE

Evaluate the above expressions for a stripline having r = 2.55 and a = 100b to
find the characteristic impedance for W /b = 0.25 to 5.0. Compare with the results
from (3.179).
Solution
A computer program was written to evaluate (3.192). The series was truncated
after 500 terms, and the results for Z 0 are as follows.

Z0, 

Numerical, Formula, Commercial

W /b Eq. (3.192) Eq. (3.179) CAD

0.25 90.9 86.6 85.3

0.50 66.4 62.7 61.7
1.0 43.6 41.0 40.2
2.0 25.5 24.2 24.4
5.0 11.1 10.8 11.9
 3.8 Microstrip Line 147

We see that the results are in reasonable agreement with the closed-form equa-
tions of (3.179) and the results from a commercial CAD package, particularly for
wider strips where the charge density is closer to uniform. Better results could be
obtained if more sophisticated estimates were used for the charge density. ■

3.8 MICROSTRIP LINE

Microstrip line is one of the most popular types of planar transmission lines primarily
because it can be fabricated by photolithographic processes and is easily miniaturized and
integrated with both passive and active microwave devices. The geometry of a microstrip
line is shown in Figure 3.25a. A conductor of width W is printed on a thin, grounded
dielectric substrate of thickness d and relative permittivity r ; a sketch of the field lines is
shown in Figure 3.25b.
If the dielectric substrate were not present (r = 1), we would have a two-wire line
consisting of a flat strip conductor over a ground plane, embedded in a homogeneous
medium (air). This would constitute a simple TEM transmission line with phase veloc-
ity v p = c and propagation constant β = k0 .
The presence of the dielectric, particularly the fact that the dielectric does not fill the
region above the strip (y > d), complicates the behavior and analysis of microstrip line.
Unlike stripline, where all the fields are contained within a homogeneous dielectric region,
microstrip has some (usually most) of its field lines in the dielectric region between the strip
conductor and the ground plane and some fraction in the air region above the substrate. For
this reason microstrip line cannot support a pure TEM wave since the phase velocity of
√
TEM fields in the dielectric region would be c/ r , while the phase velocity of TEM fields
in the air region would be c, so a phase-matching condition at the dielectric–air interface
would be impossible to enforce.
In actuality, the exact fields of a microstrip line constitute a hybrid TM-TE wave and
require more advanced analysis techniques than we are prepared to deal with here. In most
practical applications, however, the dielectric substrate is electrically very thin (d  λ),
and so the fields are quasi-TEM. In other words, the fields are essentially the same as those
of the static (DC) case. Thus, good approximations for the phase velocity, propagation con-
stant, and characteristic impedance can be obtained from static, or quasi-static, solutions.
Then the phase velocity and propagation constant can be expressed as
c
vp = √ , (3.193)
e
√
β = k 0 e , (3.194)

W
⑀r d

x
E
z Ground plane H
(a) (b)

FIGURE 3.25 Microstrip transmission line. (a) Geometry. (b) Electric and magnetic field lines.
148 Chapter 3: Transmission Lines and Waveguides

where e is the effective dielectric constant of the microstrip line. Because some of the
field lines are in the dielectric region and some are in air, the effective dielectric constant
satisfies the relation
1 < e < r
and depends on the substrate dielectric constant, the substrate thickness, the conductor
width, and the frequency.
We will present approximate design formulas for the effective dielectric constant, charac-
teristic impedance, and attenuation of microstrip line; these results are curve-fit approximations
to rigorous quasi-static solutions [8, 9]. Then we will discuss additional aspects of microstrip
lines, including frequency-dependent effects, higher order modes, and parasitic effects.

Formulas for Effective Dielectric Constant, Characteristic

Impedance, and Attenuation
The effective dielectric constant of a microstrip line is given approximately by
r + 1 r − 1 1
e = + √ . (3.195)
2 2 1 + 12d/W
The effective dielectric constant can be interpreted as the dielectric constant of a homo-
geneous medium that equivalently replaces the air and dielectric regions of the microstrip
line, as shown in Figure 3.26. The phase velocity and propagation constant are then given
by (3.193) and (3.194).
Given the dimensions of the microstrip line, the characteristic impedance can be cal-
culated as
⎧

⎪
⎪ 60 8d W
⎨ √e ln W + 4d
⎪ for W/d ≤ 1
Z0 = (3.196)
⎪
⎪ 120π
⎪
⎩√ for W/d ≥ 1.
e [W/d + 1.393 + 0.667 ln (W/d + 1.444)]
For a given characteristic impedance Z 0 and dielectric constant r , the W /d ratio can be
found as
⎧
⎪
⎪ 8e A
⎪
⎨ for W/d < 2
W e2A − 2
=   
d ⎪
⎪ 2 r − 1 0.61
⎪
⎩ B − 1 − ln(2B − 1) + ln(B − 1) + 0.39 − for W/d > 2,
π 2r r
(3.197)

W W
⑀e

⑀r d d

(a) (b)

FIGURE 3.26 Equivalent geometry of a quasi-TEM microstrip line. (a) Original geometry.
(b) Equivalent geometry, where the dielectric substrate of relative permittivity r
is replaced with a homogeneous medium of effective relative permittivity e .
 3.8 Microstrip Line 149

where


Z0 r + 1 r − 1 0.11
A= + 0.23 +
60 2 r + 1 r
377π
B= √ .
2Z 0 r
Considering a microstrip line as a quasi-TEM line, we can determine the attenuation
due to dielectric loss as
k0 r (e − 1) tan δ
αd = √ Np/m, (3.198)
2 e (r − 1)
where tan δ is the loss tangent of the dielectric. This result is derived from (3.30) by multi-
plying by a “filling factor,”
r (e − 1)
,
e (r − 1)
which accounts for the fact that the fields around the microstrip line are partly in air (loss-
less) and partly in the dielectric (lossy). The attenuation due to conductor loss is given
approximately by [8]
Rs
αc = Np/m, (3.199)
Z0W
√
where Rs = ωµ0 /2σ is the surface resistivity of the conductor. For most microstrip sub-
strates, conductor loss is more significant than dielectric loss; exceptions may occur, how-
ever, with some semiconductor substrates.

EXAMPLE 3.7 MICROSTRIP LINE DESIGN

Design a microstrip line on a 0.5 mm alumina substrate (r = 9.9, tan δ = 0.001)
for a 50  characteristic impedance. Find the length of this line required
to produce a phase delay of 270◦ at 10 GHz, and compute the total loss on this
line, assuming copper conductors. Compare the results obtained from the approx-
imate formulas of (3.195)–(3.199) with those from a microwave CAD package.

Solution
First find W/d for Z 0 = 50 , and initially guess that W/d < 2. From (3.197),

A = 2.142, W/d = 0.9654.

So the condition that W/d < 2 is satisfied; otherwise we would use the expression
for W/d > 2. Then the required line width is W = 0.9654d = 0.483 mm. From
(3.195) the effective dielectric constant is e = 6.665. The line length, , for a
270◦ phase shift is found as
√
φ = 270◦ = β = e k0 ,
2π f
k0 = = 209.4 m−1 ,
c
270◦ (π/180◦ )
= √ = 8.72 mm.
e k 0
150 Chapter 3: Transmission Lines and Waveguides

Attenuation due to dielectric loss is found from (3.198) as αd = 0.255 Np/m =

0.022 dB/cm. The surface resistivity for copper at 10 GHz is 0.026 , and the
attenuation due to conductor loss is, from (3.199), αc = 0.0108 Np/cm = 0.094
dB/cm. The total loss on the line is then 0.101 dB.
A commercial microwave CAD package gives the following results: W =
0.478 mm, e = 6.83,  = 8.61 mm, αd = 0.022 dB/cm, and αc = 0.054 dB/cm.
The approximate formulas give results that are within a few percent of the CAD
data for linewidth, effective dielectric constant, line length, and dielectric attenu-
ation. The greatest discrepancy occurs for the attenuation constant for conductor
loss. ■

Frequency-Dependent Effects and Higher Order Modes

The results for the parameters of microstrip line presented in the previous section were
based on the quasi-static approximation and are strictly valid only at DC (or very low
frequencies). At higher frequencies a number of effects can occur that lead to variations
from the quasi-static results for effective dielectric constant, characteristic impedance, and
attenuation of microstrip line. In addition, new effects can arise, such as higher order modes
and parasitic reactances.
Because microstrip line is not a true TEM line, its propagation constant is not a linear
function of frequency, meaning that the effective dielectric constant varies with frequency.
The electromagnetic field that exists on microstrip line involves a hybrid coupling of TM
and TE modes, complicated by the boundary condition imposed by the air and dielectric
substrate interface. In addition, the current on the strip conductor is not uniform across
the width of the strip, and this distribution varies with frequency. The thickness of the strip
conductor also has an effect on the current distribution and hence affects the line parameters
(especially the conductor loss).
The variation with frequency of the parameters of a transmission line is important for
several reasons. First, if the variation is significant it becomes important to know and use
the parameters at the particular frequency of interest to avoid errors in design or analysis.
Typically, for microstrip line, the frequency variation of the effective dielectric constant is
more significant than the variation of characteristic impedance, both in terms of relative
change and the relative effect on performance. A change in the effective dielectric con-
stant may have a substantial effect on the phase delay through a long section of line, while
a small change in characteristic impedance has the primary effect of introducing a small
impedance mismatch. Second, a variation in line parameters with frequency means that
different frequency components of a broadband signal will propagate differently. A varia-
tion in phase velocity, for example, means that different frequency components will arrive
at the output of the line at different times, leading to signal dispersion and distortion of
the input signal. Third, because of the complexity of modeling these effects, approximate
formulas are generally useful only for a limited range of frequency and line parameters,
and numerical computer models are usually more accurate and useful.
There are a number of approximate formulas, developed from numerical computer
solutions and/or experimental data, that have been suggested for predicting the frequency
variation of microstrip line parameters [8, 9]. A popular frequency-dependent model for
the effective dielectric constant has a form similar to the following formula [8]:
r − e (0)
e ( f ) = r − , (3.200)
1 + G( f )
where e ( f ) represents the frequency-dependent effective dielectric constant, r is the rel-
ative permittivity of the substrate, and e (0) is the effective dielectric constant of the line at